Two scores from a late, modern icon of film soundtracks; a classic late-period soundtrack to a Hitchcock classic, an informal kickoff to another soundtrack legend's centennial celebration; and a major gap filled in the most notable director-composer canon? La-La Land always brings out the big titles for their last batch of releases on Black Friday, but they've really outdone themselves this year with an era-spanning offering of five great archival score CD releases. Perhaps the most exciting
With only weeks to go before La-La Land's typically huge Black Friday announcement, it's worth noting an incredible clutch of archival score reissues and premieres that have been released over the last two months. Here's a look at some recent releases - including one on vinyl - coming from La-La Land Records and Intrada. La-La Land Records: Trek, Scarface and Jason Some box set breakouts and a rare foray into vinyl have lit up LLL's release slate this fall. First up, second and third
The last few weekends have seen moviegoers pouring back into theaters thanks to the head-to-head blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer. Their dual openings made for one of the highest-grossing non-holiday weekends ever, and the talents of Greta Gerwig (co-writer/director of the zingy comedy based on the popular doll) and Christopher Nolan (writer/director of the epic biopic about the man who spearheaded America's creation of the atomic bomb) have already netted a cumulative $1 billion at the box
June and July have brought with them a bonanza of archival soundtrack titles from three of the major film score reissue labels, covering some of the biggest names in the genre as well. Here's a rundown at the latest from Intrada, Varese Sarabande and La-La Land Records! Intrada recently filled a gap in the work of the late contemporary composer James Horner (Aliens, Titanic, Avatar) with a premiere release of his work on the 1981 film Deadly Blessing. This picture about a series of possibly
Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up, featuring a selection of the new titles in stores today! Michael Nesmith, Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings (Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Real Gone Music) Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are bringing Michael Nesmith's Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings to vinyl for the first time today! This 2-LP compendium features 22 tracks on CD drawn from the RCA Victor
Real Gone Music has another packed slate coming out this Friday, August 5. In addition to the Second Disc Records/RGM release of Michael Nesmith's Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings as a 2-LP set, Real Gone is releasing another six vinyl titles. Here is a look at four of them, ranging from British psychedelia to jazz to soundtracks. We'll have Part Two tomorrow! First up is a vinyl anthology from British psych group Tintern Abbey. During their existence back in the late 1960s,
La-La Land Records has three killer early '90s score expansions on their release schedule this month - and there's another much-desired title from the '80s also available to order from the label! First up, La-La Land readies a new remastered and expanded edition of John Williams' classic score to Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg's thrilling adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel - an action-packed sci-fi flick about a theme park full of cloned dinosaurs that invariably goes wrong - is a modern
Intrada's newest archival soundtrack release is an exciting one for fans of the late, great James Horner: the label has remastered and expanded his heroic and timeless work for the 1988 fantasy epic Willow. Sort of a Lord of the Rings for beginners (parts were even shot in New Zealand), Willow takes place in a lush fantasy world ruled by the merciless sorceress Bavmorda. She seeks to stop a prophecy that promises her defeat at the hands of Elora Danaan, the infant Princess of Tir Asleen. The
Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! This week's got some choice soundtracks plus rock, hip-hop, country, and classic vocalists. Depeche Mode, Construction Time Again | The 12" Singles (Warner/Rhino) (iTunes / Amazon) Rhino continues its series of 12" single releases from the Depeche Mode catalogue. This offering gathers up the extended mixes
The year has barely started, yet three beloved soundtrack reissue labels are bringing the heat to 2022's score reissue slate. Between a horror-packed box set from Varese Sarabande and a trio of expanded releases by James Horner, there's much cause for celebration. That is, if Varese doesn't kill you first! The label continues 25 years of superb scares with a new box set of soundtracks devoted to the horror franchise Scream. This zingy, gory picture, written by Kevin Williamson and directed
Once again, Record Store Day here in the U.S. looks a little - make that a lot - different this year. The usual offerings have been split among two dates in 2021 with Drop 1 having taken place on June 12 and Drop 2 happening tomorrow, July 17. Every retailer is handling the Drop a bit differently thanks to the necessary accommodations for social distancing, smaller crowds, and better safety precautions. So please check in with your favorite store to find out more information. Below, you'll
October is thick with not only great archival horror soundtracks, but favorites from all genres! Let's dive in to eight great film score reissues from this past month. Intrada rolled out titles from three iconic composers. This week sees an expansion of the late James Horner's score to The Land Before Time (1988). The second collaboration between animator Don Bluth and producer Steven Spielberg (this time with George Lucas in tow) told the story of a group of juvenile dinosaurs roaming the
September was an unusually bountiful month for archival soundtracks, and we're here to break it all down. Varese Goes West, Revisits Buddy Holly The latest title in Varese Sarabande's CD Club was an expansion of Elmer Bernstein's heroic score to the 1999 blockbuster Wild Wild West. Though the film somewhat infamously broke co-star Will Smith's ironclad grip on the July 4 weekend box office after star turns in Independence Day (1996) and Men In Black (1997), the weird cult charm of this
Music reissues have been scarce over the last month or so, but our friends at various boutique soundtrack labels have worked hard to put out quality products before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us as we shine the spotlight on some of our recent favorites! Varese Sarabande has been working overtime, releasing three limited CD Club titles as well as a rarer, high-profile deluxe edition. In the latter case, it's a new deluxe edition of the soundtrack to 2014's Whiplash. The sophomore
Almost halfway through February, three soundtracks from titans of film composing have been released by the fine folks at Intrada and La- La Land Records. On Monday, Intrada's latest archival soundtrack was announced: an expansion of James Horner's score to the hit An American Tail. Directed by Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH, All Dogs Go To Heaven) and produced by Steven Spielberg, this movie--one of the few mainstream animated films of the '80s not produced by Disney--tells the story of Fievel
For its first soundtrack release of the new year, Intrada's taking fans to the stars with a definitive release of the score to Apollo 13, as composed by the late, great James Horner. Ron Howard's blockbuster drama is based on the real 1970 mission to the moon, which turned into a race back to Earth when an explosion depleted most of the crew's oxygen supplies. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton portrayed the mission's crew, and the production team maintained a strong sense of accuracy and
Even though La-La Land's traditionally generous Black Friday slate is a week away, the beloved soundtrack label isn't waiting to make you say "yippie-ki-yay" - they've reconstructed Michael Kamen's classic score to Die Hard for a definitive 3CD edition. Loosely based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, Die Hard casts Moonlighting star Bruce Willis in his first major film role as John McClane, a New York City cop caught in the middle of a terrorist plot on a high-rise Los
Real Gone is kicking off its April release slate with a quartet of limited edition soundtrack vinyl releases, and we've got the details for you right here. All titles are due on April 6. First up is the score to 1985's Commando which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was directed by Mark Lester. Schwarzenegger plays Special Forces Colonel John Matrix, who is forced into a fight with a South American dictator when his daughter is kidnapped. The actor was cementing his place as one of the
While all of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday excitement was going on last week, La-La Land announced five exciting new limited-edition soundtrack reissues which are going to be available today at 12 pm PST on the label's website. First up, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is the soundtrack to Richard Fleischer's 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle. The film, based upon the character created by the Hugh Lofting in 1920, starred Rex Harrison as Doctor Dolittle, Samantha Eggar as Emma
One of comics' most underrated heroes--and one of the late James Horner's crowning score achievements--is back in flight. Intrada has reissued and expanded the score to the ambitious period superhero flick The Rocketeer. Based on the acclaimed comic by the late Dave Stevens, The Rocketeer is the story of Cliff Secord, a dashing pilot in pre-World War II California who unwittingly discovers a jetpack. He uses it to perform extraordinary and heroic deeds, but it isn't long until forces of good
A classic '50s score and four popular '90s soundtracks from three beloved composers make up La-La Land Records' exciting-as-always Black Friday announcements. This year, the label has prepped expanded reissues of Dimitri Tiomkin's Giant (1956), 25th anniversary editions of John Williams' Home Alone and John Barry'sDances with Wolves (both 1990) and two scores by the late James Horner: 1994's The Pagemaster and 1995's Braveheart. All five limited edition CD sets will be available to order on
We're deeply saddened to share the news of the tragic and unexpected death of film composer James Horner whose stirring melodies have thrilled, excited and inspired generations of moviegoers on films like Aliens, Avatar, An American Tail, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and of course, Titanic. Back on March 8, 2010, our own Mike Duquette paid tribute to the Horner legacy with a special installment of Back Tracks. In memory of Mr. Horner and his immense contributions to cinema and music, we're
As this post is being written, the Oscars have wrapped up. Exciting, right? Of course not. The Oscars are perhaps as ridiculous as the Grammys, and usually don't have a heck of a lot to offer fans of any music in general. Perhaps this year was a bit of an exception - it was very exciting to see Michael Giacchino score his first Oscar for the excellent score to Up - but for someone raised on ultra-thematic scores such as John Williams' work for Star Wars, Jaws and others, there's usually not much